IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/entthe/v49y2025i3p782-816.html

Communicating During Societal Crises: How Entrepreneurs’ Interactions with Backers Affect Fundraising via Crowdfunding

Author

Listed:
  • Aaron F. McKenny
  • Greg Fisher
  • Jeremy C. Short
  • David J. Ketchen Jr.
  • Thomas H. Allison

Abstract

We investigate how entrepreneurs communicate with crowdfunding backers during the onset of a societal crisis via a content analysis of campaigns active during the COVID-19 pandemic and a vignette experiment. While effective communication with stakeholders is critical for acquiring resources during societal crises, little is known about what communication strategies entrepreneurs use during these crises or their influence on fundraising. Notably, we find that entrepreneurs’ crisis communication strategies differ along three key dimensions: timing (proactive vs. reactive), target (entrepreneur vs. other), and nature (utilitarian vs. personal), and that proactively addressing other stakeholders’ personal concerns attracts more funding than alternative approaches.

Suggested Citation

  • Aaron F. McKenny & Greg Fisher & Jeremy C. Short & David J. Ketchen Jr. & Thomas H. Allison, 2025. "Communicating During Societal Crises: How Entrepreneurs’ Interactions with Backers Affect Fundraising via Crowdfunding," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 49(3), pages 782-816, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:49:y:2025:i:3:p:782-816
    DOI: 10.1177/10422587241288124
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/10422587241288124
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/10422587241288124?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wessel, Michael & Thies, Ferdinand & Benlian, Alexander, 2022. "The role of prototype fidelity in technology crowdfunding," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 132588, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    2. Ali E. Ahmed & Deniz Ucbasaran & Gabriella Cacciotti & Trenton A. Williams, 2022. "Integrating Psychological Resilience, Stress, and Coping in Entrepreneurship: A Critical Review and Research Agenda," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(3), pages 497-538, May.
    3. Ren, Jie & Raghupathi, Viju & Raghupathi, Wullianallur, 2021. "Exploring the subjective nature of crowdfunding decisions," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 15(C).
    4. Peter Younkin & Venkat Kuppuswamy, 2018. "The Colorblind Crowd? Founder Race and Performance in Crowdfunding," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(7), pages 3269-3287, July.
    5. Allison, Thomas H. & Davis, Blakley C. & Webb, Justin W. & Short, Jeremy C., 2017. "Persuasion in crowdfunding: An elaboration likelihood model of crowdfunding performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 707-725.
    6. Han Jiang & Zhiyi Wang & Lusi Yang & Jia Shen & Jungpil Hahn, 2021. "How Rewarding Are Your Rewards? A Value-Based View of Crowdfunding Rewards and Crowdfunding Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(3), pages 562-599, May.
    7. Oo, Pyayt P. & Jiang, Lin & Sahaym, Arvin & Parhankangas, Annaleena & Chan, Richard, 2023. "Actions in words: How entrepreneurs use diversified and changing speech acts to achieve funding success," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2).
    8. Fragiskos K. Gonidakis & Andreas G. Koutoupis & Anastasios D. Tsamis & Maria-Eleni K. Agoraki, 2020. "Risk disclosure in listed Greek companies: the effects of the financial crisis," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(4/5), pages 615-633, August.
    9. Chan, Ho Fai & Moy, Naomi & Schaffner, Markus & Torgler, Benno, 2021. "The effects of money saliency and sustainability orientation on reward based crowdfunding success," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 443-455.
    10. Monika Kackovic & Nachoem M. Wijnberg, 2022. "Artists Finding Galleries: Entrepreneurs Gaining Legitimacy in the Art Market," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(4), pages 1092-1116, July.
    11. Jennifer A. Chatman & Francis J. Flynn, 2005. "Full-Cycle Micro-Organizational Behavior Research," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(4), pages 434-447, August.
    12. Aaron H. Anglin & Shane W. Reid & Jeremy C. Short, 2023. "More Than One Way to Tell a Story: A Configurational Approach to Storytelling in Crowdfunding," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(2), pages 461-494, March.
    13. Jiyoung Kimjeon & Per Davidsson, 2022. "External Enablers of Entrepreneurship: A Review and Agenda for Accumulation of Strategically Actionable Knowledge," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 46(3), pages 643-687, May.
    14. Aaron F. McKenny & Thomas H. Allison & David J. Ketchen Jr. & Jeremy C. Short & R. Duane Ireland, 2017. "How Should Crowdfunding Research Evolve? A Survey of the Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice Editorial Board," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(2), pages 291-304, March.
    15. Sofia Bapna & Martin Ganco, 2021. "Gender Gaps in Equity Crowdfunding: Evidence from a Randomized Field Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(5), pages 2679-2710, May.
    16. Parhankangas, Annaleena & Renko, Maija, 2017. "Linguistic style and crowdfunding success among social and commercial entrepreneurs," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 215-236.
    17. Jermain C. Kaminski & Christian Hopp, 2020. "Predicting outcomes in crowdfunding campaigns with textual, visual, and linguistic signals," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 627-649, October.
    18. Chang, Erick P.C. & Chrisman, James J. & Kellermanns, Franz W., 2011. "The relationship between prior and subsequent new venture creation in the United States: A county level analysis," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 200-211, March.
    19. Klyver, Kim & Nielsen, Suna Løwe, 2021. "Which crisis strategies are (expectedly) effective among SMEs during COVID-19?," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 16(C).
    20. Masoud Moradi & Mayukh Dass & Dennis Arnett & Vishag Badrinarayanan, 2024. "The time-varying effects of rhetorical signals in crowdfunding campaigns," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 52(2), pages 370-398, March.
    21. Short, Jeremy C. & Anglin, Aaron H., 2019. "Is leadership language ‘rewarded’ in crowdfunding? Replicating social entrepreneurship research in a rewards-based context," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 11(C), pages 1-1.
    22. Rose, Stefan & Wentzel, Daniel & Hopp, Christian & Kaminski, Jermain, 2021. "Launching for success: The effects of psychological distance and mental simulation on funding decisions and crowdfunding performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(6).
    23. Fisher, Greg & Neubert, Emily & Burnell, Devin, 2021. "Resourcefulness narratives: Transforming actions into stories to mobilize support," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(4).
    24. Qianzhou Du & Jing Li & Yanqing Du & G. Alan Wang & Weiguo Fan, 2021. "Predicting crowdfunding project success based on backers' language preferences," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 72(12), pages 1558-1574, December.
    25. Kristian Roed Nielsen & Julia Katharina Binder, 2021. "I Am What I Pledge: The Importance of Value Alignment for Mobilizing Backers in Reward-Based Crowdfunding," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(3), pages 531-561, May.
    26. Alex Murray & Suresh Kotha & Greg Fisher, 2020. "Community-Based Resource Mobilization: How Entrepreneurs Acquire Resources from Distributed Non-Professionals via Crowdfunding," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 31(4), pages 960-989, July.
    27. Jayson L. Lusk & Ted C. Schroeder, 2004. "Are Choice Experiments Incentive Compatible? A Test with Quality Differentiated Beef Steaks," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 86(2), pages 467-482.
    28. Scheaf, David J. & Davis, Blakley C. & Webb, Justin W. & Coombs, Joseph E. & Borns, Jared & Holloway, Garrett, 2018. "Signals' flexibility and interaction with visual cues: Insights from crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 720-741.
    29. Oo, Pyayt P. & Allison, Thomas H. & Sahaym, Arvin & Juasrikul, Sakdipon, 2019. "User entrepreneurs' multiple identities and crowdfunding performance: Effects through product innovativeness, perceived passion, and need similarity," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 1-1.
    30. Fisher, Greg & Kuratko, Donald F. & Bloodgood, James M. & Hornsby, Jeffrey S., 2017. "Legitimate to whom? The challenge of audience diversity and new venture legitimacy," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 52-71.
    31. Mollick, Ethan, 2014. "The dynamics of crowdfunding: An exploratory study," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 1-16.
    32. Michael Lounsbury & Mary Ann Glynn, 2001. "Cultural entrepreneurship: stories, legitimacy, and the acquisition of resources," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(6‐7), pages 545-564, June.
    33. C. S. Richard Chan & Annaleena Parhankangas, 2017. "Crowdfunding Innovative Ideas: How Incremental and Radical Innovativeness Influence Funding Outcomes," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(2), pages 237-263, March.
    34. Lorenzo Patelli & Matteo Pedrini, 2014. "Is the Optimism in CEO’s Letters to Shareholders Sincere? Impression Management Versus Communicative Action During the Economic Crisis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 19-34, September.
    35. Norbert Steigenberger & Hendrik Wilhelm, 2018. "Extending Signaling Theory to Rhetorical Signals: Evidence from Crowdfunding," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(3), pages 529-546, June.
    36. Wesemann, Henrik & Wincent, Joakim, 2021. "A whole new world: Counterintuitive crowdfunding insights for female founders," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 15(C).
    37. Seigner, Benedikt David Christian & McKenny, Aaron F. & Reetz, David K., 2024. "Old but gold? Examining the effect of age bias in reward-based crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(3).
    38. Phillip H. Kim & Mickaël Buffart & Gregoire Croidieu, 2016. "TMI: Signaling credible claims in crowdfunding campaign narratives," Grenoble Ecole de Management (Post-Print) hal-03188198, HAL.
    39. Franke, Nikolaus & Gruber, Marc & Harhoff, Dietmar & Henkel, Joachim, 2006. "What you are is what you like--similarity biases in venture capitalists' evaluations of start-up teams," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 802-826, November.
    40. Stevenson, Regan & Allen, Jared & Wang, Tang, 2022. "Failed but validated? The effect of market validation on persistence and performance after a crowdfunding failure," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(2).
    41. Blake D. Mathias & Annelore Huyghe & Casey J. Frid & Tera L. Galloway, 2018. "An identity perspective on coopetition in the craft beer industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(12), pages 3086-3115, December.
    42. McSweeney, Jordan J. & McSweeney, Kevin T. & Webb, Justin W. & Devers, Cynthia E., 2022. "The right touch of pitch assertiveness: Examining entrepreneurs' gender and project category fit in crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4).
    43. Anglin, Aaron H. & Wolfe, Marcus T. & Short, Jeremy C. & McKenny, Aaron F. & Pidduck, Robert J., 2018. "Narcissistic rhetoric and crowdfunding performance: A social role theory perspective," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 780-812.
    44. Marie Madeleine Meurer & Matthias Waldkirch & Peter Kalum Schou & Eliane Léontine Bucher & Katrin Burmeister-Lamp, 2022. "Digital affordances: how entrepreneurs access support in online communities during the COVID-19 pandemic," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 637-663, February.
    45. Phillip H. Kim & Mickaël Buffart & Gregoire Croidieu, 2016. "TMI: Signaling credible claims in crowdfunding campaign narratives," Post-Print hal-03188198, HAL.
    46. Grégoire, Denis A. & Binder, Julia K. & Rauch, Andreas, 2019. "Navigating the validity tradeoffs of entrepreneurship research experiments: A systematic review and best-practice suggestions," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 284-310.
    47. Shuangfa Huang & David Pickernell & Martina Battisti & Thang Nguyen, 2022. "Signalling entrepreneurs’ credibility and project quality for crowdfunding success: cases from the Kickstarter and Indiegogo environments," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 1801-1821, April.
    48. Anglin, Aaron H. & Short, Jeremy C. & Drover, Will & Stevenson, Regan M. & McKenny, Aaron F. & Allison, Thomas H., 2018. "The power of positivity? The influence of positive psychological capital language on crowdfunding performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 470-492.
    49. Christopher Courtney & Supradeep Dutta & Yong Li, 2017. "Resolving Information Asymmetry: Signaling, Endorsement, and Crowdfunding Success," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 41(2), pages 265-290, March.
    50. Wessel, Michael & Thies, Ferdinand & Benlian, Alexander, 2022. "The role of prototype fidelity in technology crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4).
    51. Allison, Thomas H. & Warnick, Benjamin J. & Davis, Blakley C. & Cardon, Melissa S., 2022. "Can you hear me now? Engendering passion and preparedness perceptions with vocal expressions in crowdfunding pitches," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(3).
    52. William P. Wan & Daphne W. Yiu, 2009. "From crisis to opportunity: environmental jolt, corporate acquisitions, and firm performance," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(7), pages 791-801, July.
    53. Anna Lamin & Srilata Zaheer, 2012. "Wall Street vs. Main Street: Firm Strategies for Defending Legitimacy and Their Impact on Different Stakeholders," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(1), pages 47-66, February.
    54. Chandler, Jeffrey A. & Anglin, Aaron H. & Kanwal, Fizza & Short, Jeremy C., 2024. "No politics in funding pitches: An expectancy violations theory perspective of entrepreneurs' political expressions in crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1).
    55. Chan, C.S. Richard & Parhankangas, Annaleena & Sahaym, Arvin & Oo, Pyayt, 2020. "Bellwether and the herd? Unpacking the u-shaped relationship between prior funding and subsequent contributions in reward-based crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 35(2).
    56. Jonatan Pinkse & Koen Groot, 2015. "Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Corporate Political Activity: Overcoming Market Barriers in the Clean Energy Sector," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 39(3), pages 633-654, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. McSweeney, Jordan J. & McSweeney, Kevin T. & Allison, Thomas H. & Anglin, Aaron H., 2025. "The entrepreneurial pitching process: A systematic review using topic modeling and future research agenda," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 40(5).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. McSweeney, Jordan J. & McSweeney, Kevin T. & Allison, Thomas H. & Anglin, Aaron H., 2025. "The entrepreneurial pitching process: A systematic review using topic modeling and future research agenda," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 40(5).
    2. Jordan J. McSweeney & Kevin T. McSweeney & Thomas H. Allison & Justin W. Webb, 2025. "Is Prior Failure a Burden for Entrepreneurs’ Follow-Up Crowdfunding Success? An Expectancy Violations Theory Perspective," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 49(5), pages 1431-1469, September.
    3. Seigner, Benedikt David Christian & McKenny, Aaron F. & Reetz, David K., 2024. "Old but gold? Examining the effect of age bias in reward-based crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(3).
    4. Waddingham, Jacob A. & Chandler, Jeffrey A. & Alexander, Katherine C. & Zafar, Sana & Anglin, Aaron, 2025. "The leisure paradox for entrepreneurs: A neo-institutional theory perspective of disclosing leisure activities in crowdfunding pitches," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 40(2).
    5. Oo, Pyayt P. & Jiang, Lin & Sahaym, Arvin & Parhankangas, Annaleena & Chan, Richard, 2023. "Actions in words: How entrepreneurs use diversified and changing speech acts to achieve funding success," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 38(2).
    6. Chandler, Jeffrey A. & Anglin, Aaron H. & Kanwal, Fizza & Short, Jeremy C., 2024. "No politics in funding pitches: An expectancy violations theory perspective of entrepreneurs' political expressions in crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(1).
    7. Aaron Anglin & Garry D. Bruton & Marcin Bielicki, 2025. "No Credit for Success, Penalized for Failure? An Examination of Entrepreneur Race, Gender, and Prior Fundraising Track Records in Crowdfunding," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 49(5), pages 1392-1430, September.
    8. Sebastian Schlauderer & Sven Overhage & Maximilian Raab, 2026. "I've got a feeling—how multi-modal emotional expressions affect investment decisions in reward-based crowdfunding," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 66(3), pages 1495-1523, March.
    9. Tajvarpour, Mohammad Hossein & Pujari, Devashish, 2022. "The influence of narrative description on the success of crowdfunding campaigns: The moderating role of quality signals," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 123-138.
    10. Ivo Blohm & Moritz Schulz & Jan Marco Leimeister, 2024. "Hedonic Signals in Crowdfunding," Business & Information Systems Engineering: The International Journal of WIRTSCHAFTSINFORMATIK, Springer;Gesellschaft für Informatik e.V. (GI), vol. 66(6), pages 757-775, December.
    11. Alex Murray & Greg Fisher, 2023. "When More Is Less: Explaining the Curse of Too Much Capital for Early-Stage Ventures," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 34(1), pages 246-282, January.
    12. Aaron H. Anglin & Shane W. Reid & Jeremy C. Short, 2023. "More Than One Way to Tell a Story: A Configurational Approach to Storytelling in Crowdfunding," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(2), pages 461-494, March.
    13. Lars Hornuf & Johannes Voshaar, 2024. "What Is an Effective Signal in Crowdfunding? Evidence from Expert Researchers and a Meta-Study," CESifo Working Paper Series 11501, CESifo.
    14. Pyayt P. Oo & Arvin Sahaym & Keith M. Hmieleski & Richard Chan & Annaleena Parhankangas, 2025. "The Aha Moment! The Effects of Serendipity and Innovation on Crowdfunding Performance," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 49(1), pages 60-88, January.
    15. Yu, Honglan & Attah-Boakye, Rexford & Zhang, Yameng & Adams, Kweku & Owusu-Yirenkyi, Diana, 2025. "Home–country technological legitimacy in crowdfunding: The moderating role of positive psychological capital language," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    16. Caroline Lindlar & Eva Alexandra Jakob & Jeannette Mai Dinh & Marius Claus Wehner, 2025. "Failure signals in sustainable crowdfunding: distinct reactions driven by crowd investors’ experience," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 65(3), pages 1877-1907, October.
    17. Sitruk, Jonathan & Grodal, Stine & Suarez, Fernando & Dibiaggio, Ludovic, 2025. "Emotional brightness and crowdfunding performance," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    18. Jeffrey M. Pollack & Markku Maula & Thomas H. Allison & Maija Renko & Christina C. Günther, 2021. "Making a Contribution to Entrepreneurship Research by Studying Crowd-Funded Entrepreneurial Opportunities," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 45(2), pages 247-262, March.
    19. Rose, Stefan & Wentzel, Daniel & Hopp, Christian & Kaminski, Jermain, 2021. "Launching for success: The effects of psychological distance and mental simulation on funding decisions and crowdfunding performance," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(6).
    20. McSweeney, Jordan J. & McSweeney, Kevin T. & Webb, Justin W. & Devers, Cynthia E., 2022. "The right touch of pitch assertiveness: Examining entrepreneurs' gender and project category fit in crowdfunding," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:entthe:v:49:y:2025:i:3:p:782-816. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.